YA Fiction: What is Cyberpunk and Why do I Care?

Dystopias may be the hot YA trend right now, but cyberpunk (and its bosom buddy, steampunk) is on the rise. In fact, you may have read some YA cyberpunk without even realizing it–books with a high level of technobabble but a low standard of living, like The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), Kaimira: Sky Village (Nigel Ashland, Monk Ashland), The Softwire Series (P.J. Haarsma), and Little Brother (Cory Doctorow).

What is Cyberpunk?

There’s a lot of debate over when exactly cyberpunk started, but most fans agree it began in the early eighties with the Bruce Berthke story aptly titled Cyberpunk. The genre didn’t really take off, though, until the 90s, with novels such as Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, William Gibson’s Neuromancer. (Several authors–such as Bruce Sterling and Pat Cadigan–were publishing cyberpunk in the 80s; sadly, it was largely unnoticed by general science fiction audiences).

But what exactly is cyberpunk? It’s kind of hard to pin down. Although it’s clearly a subgenre of science fiction, cyberpunk often moonlights as dystopic and post-apocalyptic fiction. Protagonists are usually misfits, smart (and precocious), anti-social (even verging on a-social), and outside the law/government in some way (anti-heroes are also popular–but that’s another post). But instead of focusing on extreme conditions in a far, far away future, cyberpunk authors tend to play with current technological ideas, bumping them up a couple of steps to ask the seminal writerly question: what if?

Cyberpunk is, by its nature, anti-utopian (William Gibson’s short story, The Gernsback Continuum digs into some of the reasons why). But instead of just setting up a dystopic world and depending on suspension of disbelief, good cyberpunk forces the reader to ask questions and scratch about for answers. Consider The Hunger Games (I’d say consider Catching Fire, too, but I haven’t read it yet)–throughout the book, Katniss articulates our questions, asking why the Capitol is the way it is, why its citizens are unhappy, why Gale rages and shouts when he’s trapped in District 12 unable to help.

Another common theme in cyberpunk is the manipulated situation–also a la The Hunger Games. In Kaimira: Sky Village, Mei and Breaker are each thrust into settings against their will–Mei because her father leaves her with the Sky Dwellers, Breaker because he has to help Riley. The story is full of mecha and tech detail, and the characters’ facility with mecha is a key plot point. Both books, though, are often labeled dystopia.

But cyberpunk shares elements with more than just science fiction novels. Unsurprisingly, it’s often very post-modernist, and some works have a very film noir feel. Matrix-like, some stories play with the connection between the mind and virtual reality, a particularly relevant theme just now.

Why Not Just Call it Science Fiction?

Part of the allure of cyberpunk–and dystopic fiction–is the name. Science fiction conjures images of pasty, pimpled, bespectacled mole people who watch the same episode of Star Trek until they’ve nailed not just Spock’s lines, but his inflections, too. (No disrespect, Trek lovers: I’ve watched all 5 series and the movies. Undiscovered Country is my favorite. Hurrah for even numbers.) Telling your friends you read cyberpunk or dystopic fiction makes readers sound not just cool, but intellectual and cutting edge, particularly since poliitco-social themes are common in both.

Breaking up science fiction, though, means that we (authors and readers) are less likely to move beyond a core group of titles. Although readers of dystopic fic may love more cyberpunk geared titles, they’re unlikely to pick them up; post-apocalyptic fans are less likely to rifle through the dystopia shelves.

Why Cyberpunk makes good YA

Although it’s easy to get bogged down in setting, the key to cyberpunk, like most good fiction, is its characters. Characters are also, to my mind, the most important part of good YA. So why do cyberpunk protagonists make good YA?

Belonging & Rebellion

Pretty much all cyberpunk protagonists are non-conformist in some way. Some are outright rebels; few (if any–I certainly can’t come up with anything) have a sense of belonging. Many also feel manipulated (with good reason) and misunderstood. While few teens are forced into arena to battle it out with mechanical robot extensions of themselves, most will recognize parts of their lives in Breaker’s story, and relate to his emotions.

Digital Natives

This is how I think of the current crop of kids and teens, the ones who’ve grown up with fast computers and the internet. Older folk (like me–my 29 year old brain is already past it!), no matter how intent on learning, will never speak tech with the same ease as today’s kids and teens (the same will be true of their kids, and so on and so on, until we hit the Zombocalypse). Cyberpunk protagonists are usually in the same boat–they’re computer geniuses, hackers, neurally jacked, &c. &c. &c.

Inherited Suckitude

Just about everyone and their irate ferret has an opinion on climate change. And while all those irate ferrets may not agree it’s real, most of us can agree that the world has a lot of problems–problems we’re passing onto our teens. Like dystopias, many cyberpunk novels deal with very timely issues (including reality tv, climate change, and social media), pushing the boundaries and forcing readers to wonder if such scenarios could actually happen (a world ruled by irate ferrets and their Dalek minions? Totally). Most cyberpunk novels, even the hardcore tech ones, often present futures with eerie echoes of not just today, but recognizable–believable–predictions for tomorrow.

Do you read cyberpunk? YA or adult? Do you like it? What did you think of The Hunger Games, Little Brother, and Kaimira: Sky Village? If you’re looking for some good YA cyberpunk, check out my recent list.